Mason County Park - Beast reviews
5
6
deezler
Experience:
23.9 years
15 played
4 reviews
mixed bag. 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:May 21, 2011
Played the course:once
Pros:
Most other peoples "pros" are accurate so I wont re-hash them all. This is a great piece of land with a lot of fun holes. Great views of Lake Michigan.
Cons:
Ugh. I was hoping not to have any material for this section but unfortunately there is a lot. DISCLAIMER- I played before Memorial day so "technically" the park was not open yet. However all the literature I have seen for this park clearly states you should feel free to come play in the off season.
1. Signage was awful to non-existent. Some tee pads were literally just a small square of concrete in the middle of a field. Really had no idea where to throw or where we were on the course on numerous occasions. What signs that were still in existence had listed hole lengths that did not even match the score card. How does that happen? Further confusing things is how the Goliath course completely bisects the beast dozens of times.
2. Felt like 21 out of the 24 holes were blind. Seriously. No signs and all blind holes? This meant we had to walk every single hole twice. Not fun, really breaks up your rhythm.
3. Course had not been mowed, so with a light rain we had totally soaked feet/legs. This point is excusable though due to the park not being officially open yet.
4. Tee pads are only 4 feet long. Pretty hard to get in a full wind up when you are thinking about stepping onto and off of the pad.
5. This course is billed as being "longer" than beauty, but look at the hole info tab. Loads of holes under 250. They are just blind 90 degree holes up and down steep hills. Kind of a strange and erratic hole layout, especially on the last 12 holes.
1. Signage was awful to non-existent. Some tee pads were literally just a small square of concrete in the middle of a field. Really had no idea where to throw or where we were on the course on numerous occasions. What signs that were still in existence had listed hole lengths that did not even match the score card. How does that happen? Further confusing things is how the Goliath course completely bisects the beast dozens of times.
2. Felt like 21 out of the 24 holes were blind. Seriously. No signs and all blind holes? This meant we had to walk every single hole twice. Not fun, really breaks up your rhythm.
3. Course had not been mowed, so with a light rain we had totally soaked feet/legs. This point is excusable though due to the park not being officially open yet.
4. Tee pads are only 4 feet long. Pretty hard to get in a full wind up when you are thinking about stepping onto and off of the pad.
5. This course is billed as being "longer" than beauty, but look at the hole info tab. Loads of holes under 250. They are just blind 90 degree holes up and down steep hills. Kind of a strange and erratic hole layout, especially on the last 12 holes.
Other Thoughts:
Still had a great time just because of the land and scenery. With mowed (read: defined) fairways, it would be easier to know what to do. But if charging a dollar a day to play does not generate enough revenue for sign posts, charge more. Because playing a course with no idea where to go next or where to throw off the tee is frustrating.
SOMEONE WHO IS A LOCAL GET OFF YOUR BUTT ALREADY AND MAKE A COURSE MAP!
SOMEONE WHO IS A LOCAL GET OFF YOUR BUTT ALREADY AND MAKE A COURSE MAP!
17
10
B = Beast is a beast with some unfortunate beastly characteristics 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 10, 2010
Played the course:once
Pros:
At 24 holes, the Beast has a ton to offer....so I can fully see why so many rave about this course! There is so much to cheer about but at every turn, but there was always something that seemed to continually nickel and dime me downward in the overall playing experience. I will do my best to justify my seemingly low rating below. One note: I gave the Beast a grade of 86 - which is just a smidge below 87 which would be a B+ and a 3.5 disc rating.
What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 18 (and more) hole courses:
1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == C
(This course is very straight forward - average at best in this department. Very, very few choices or decisions to be made. The challenge has got to be the wind - although there was not even a breeze the day I played it. And, punishment for errant throws is almost non-existent. If you get in the middle of some of the shrubs it is possible to have no real throw out, but I do not remember too many of them placed strategically - like sandtraps are on a golf course.)
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == B-
(About half the holes present a perfectly fun and challenging experience for me lengthwise. But the other half are either too short to be fun or are too long to be interesting - bomb a decent drive and then you're left with a doinker upshot (see #5 for more on this). Combine this with the overall lack of shot shapes required and the lack of punishment and this course lacks for me in the area of scoring euphoria.)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == B-
(Other than a few holes, this is not a wooded course and most of the course is either open or just through low shrubs. There is variety in left/right/up/down hole shapes, but not enough of the kind that force you to shape your shots accurately and consistently.)
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B+
(The area that this course is in is strictly for disc golf and as such you do feel like you are getting away from the hustle-bustle. With many glimpses of Lake Michigan and beautiful trees and terrain, you are constantly reminded of the beauty of nature. The problem for me in really getting refreshed by my experience on this course is twofold: 1) the park road and parking lots (and a road outside of park property) are prominent on the vast majority of holes, and 2) there is a huge dam looming over the course - the backside of a reservoir. It casts this ominous feeling over the course like a giant hovering over your shoulder and surprising you every time you glance over your shoulder. Hole 14 is stunning! With a white birch on one side and a beautiful fir tree on the other, things were just perfectly and beautifully framed as I approached the tee just in time to see a deer ambling across the fairway about 150' away. #1 Kodak moment of my disc golf career!)
5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == NA
(Although hole 1 would seem like a two-throw hole, the elevation loss makes for such a short upshot that it is a tweener hole - a par three with no hope of a birdie for me. Same with 484' #11 and 425' (uphill) #18 - ~325' drive and then ~150' doinker to putting range.)
What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 18 (and more) hole courses:
1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == C
(This course is very straight forward - average at best in this department. Very, very few choices or decisions to be made. The challenge has got to be the wind - although there was not even a breeze the day I played it. And, punishment for errant throws is almost non-existent. If you get in the middle of some of the shrubs it is possible to have no real throw out, but I do not remember too many of them placed strategically - like sandtraps are on a golf course.)
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == B-
(About half the holes present a perfectly fun and challenging experience for me lengthwise. But the other half are either too short to be fun or are too long to be interesting - bomb a decent drive and then you're left with a doinker upshot (see #5 for more on this). Combine this with the overall lack of shot shapes required and the lack of punishment and this course lacks for me in the area of scoring euphoria.)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == B-
(Other than a few holes, this is not a wooded course and most of the course is either open or just through low shrubs. There is variety in left/right/up/down hole shapes, but not enough of the kind that force you to shape your shots accurately and consistently.)
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B+
(The area that this course is in is strictly for disc golf and as such you do feel like you are getting away from the hustle-bustle. With many glimpses of Lake Michigan and beautiful trees and terrain, you are constantly reminded of the beauty of nature. The problem for me in really getting refreshed by my experience on this course is twofold: 1) the park road and parking lots (and a road outside of park property) are prominent on the vast majority of holes, and 2) there is a huge dam looming over the course - the backside of a reservoir. It casts this ominous feeling over the course like a giant hovering over your shoulder and surprising you every time you glance over your shoulder. Hole 14 is stunning! With a white birch on one side and a beautiful fir tree on the other, things were just perfectly and beautifully framed as I approached the tee just in time to see a deer ambling across the fairway about 150' away. #1 Kodak moment of my disc golf career!)
5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == NA
(Although hole 1 would seem like a two-throw hole, the elevation loss makes for such a short upshot that it is a tweener hole - a par three with no hope of a birdie for me. Same with 484' #11 and 425' (uphill) #18 - ~325' drive and then ~150' doinker to putting range.)
